School board OKs 7 projects

Seven new construction projects and criteria that will be used to evaluate the superintendent received the go-ahead from the Charleston County School Board on Monday night.

District leaders asked the board for permission to begin issuing $27 million in low-interest bonds that will be used over the next two years to renovate and expand buildings. The board unanimously agreed to the expenditure without discussion.

The criteria that will be used to evaluate schools Superintendent Nancy McGinley are almost identical to what the board used last year. The evaluation has three parts: 60 percent is tied to schools' achievement; 20 percent will measure human resources, school climate, operational, financial and capital program goals; and the final 20 percent will judge McGinley's leadership, vision, communication, board relations and work ethic.

Two board members -- Elizabeth Kandrac and Arthur Ravenel Jr. -- voted against the evaluation tool.

McGinley likely will be evaluated at the board's next meeting in two weeks.

The $27 million in new construction work will be spread among schools, and the three highest priority projects are tied to the new Stall High building, which will open next summer. The district plans to renovate and redesign the existing Stall High building, which will become the new Birney Middle campus. The former Birney Middle building will be redesigned to become the new Midland Park Intermediate School for third- through fifth-grade students, and the existing Midland Park campus will become a new primary school.

The changes should relieve the overcrowding some schools are experiencing, said Bill Lewis, executive director of the district's building program.

The next highest-ranking projects include expanding Baptist Hill High to absorb students from the shuttered Schroder Middle, designing and rebuilding the Montessori Community School on the campus of Springfield Elementary, renovating the School of the Arts campus as an arts-infused elementary school and renovating Clark Academy.

The district plans to move through the projects in that order until it runs out of money. Officials were able to access the nearly no-cost loan because of the federal stimulus package. Districts must repay the money they borrow, and those lending money receive tax credits instead of interest. The money must be spent within three years of the district receiving it, and officials have said the bond issue won't increase property taxes.

No one on the board questioned or commented on the construction projects. Board Vice Chairman Gregg Meyers said after the meeting that he thought members understood that the district's construction projects have been driven by its most serious needs, thus eliminating the need for discussion or politics in the board's vote.

Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546 or dcourrege@postandcourier.com.